What?! How did I end up as clan head?

"Uncle Hiashi, Uncle Hizashi~"

"Qingwu~ You're here."

Qingwu went over and topped up the elders' tea, then stood obediently behind his grandfather. Hyuga Hoze gave him an approving glance. "You've got some sense, kid~"

"Thanks, Qingwu~"

Hiashi and Hizashi also smiled and thanked him. Their eyes showed how pleased they were with his courtesy and humility.

As the one steering the clan now, Qingwu stood on equal footing with them, if not slightly above them. Yet he still humbly attended to them as a junior, which touched them deeply.

"Hm?!"

Seeing Hyuga Hiashi hesitate, Hyuga Hoze chuckled. "Heh~ Hiashi, since when were you so bashful? Just say what's on your mind. We're all family here. What is there to hold back about~"

Hyuga Hiashi realized he was right and voiced his doubts. "Great Elder, weren't we a little too disrespectful toward the higher-ups today? That's not how the Hyuga usually do things~"

Hyuga Hoze smiled. "No~ Hiashi, that was exactly the right amount. Young Hizashi, explain it to him~"

Hizashi hadn't expected the Great Elder to call on him, but he shared his thoughts anyway. "Brother, the Great Elder did that because of the Hokage and Danzo."

"They came today to probe the Hyuga's strengths and weaknesses."

"Above all, they wanted to check the Great Elder's health. If he were in poor condition..."

"Or if we Hyuga showed even a hint of weakness, we'd face endless exploitation and oppression."

"The Uchiha were a warning."

Qingwu looked at Hyuga Hizashi in surprise. This uncle of his had a good eye for politics. What a shame he'd died so early in the original story.

Surprised though he was, Qingwu wouldn't interrupt. When his elders spoke, he listened. This was all valuable life experience.

"Got it~"

Hyuga Hiashi immediately understood. "I see. If we keep compromising and backing down, the higher-ups will only push for more, constantly suppressing us and chipping away at us."

The Great Elder, Hyuga Hoze, nodded. "Exactly. That's why we have to stand firm and show them the Hyuga aren't easy prey. Anyone who tries to bite us will lose a few teeth~"

Hiashi sounded worried. "But won't that upset the higher-ups? None of those people are exactly generous-minded." He'd wanted to say they were rotten to the core...

"Couldn't we just ignore them? Why do we have to confront them so fiercely?" Hizashi felt the same way.

Qingwu thought to himself, Give them an inch and they'll take a mile. They're boiling us alive one degree at a time. A thief can keep plotting forever, but you can't keep your guard up forever.

"Ah~ Hiashi..."

Hyuga Hoze sighed inwardly. This clan head was still too soft. "It's not a question of whether we'll offend them. We certainly will, unless the Hyuga Clan willingly submits, hands over everything we've accumulated over a thousand years, and becomes their vassal."

"From then on, we'd work ourselves to the bone for them. Even whether we could survive would depend on their whims~"

Hyuga Hiashi froze, then pictured that miserable prospect and said incredulously, "How could that happen?"

"The Hyuga are one of Konoha's largest clans, with deep foundations and considerable strength."

"As long as we show enough strength and resolve, the higher-ups won't dare offend us lightly."

Qingwu curled his lip. Too naive. If you're in their way, they'll wipe you out even if you're the greatest clan of all.

Hyuga Hoze shook his head and sighed. "A great clan?! A thousand-year-old clan?! Then how did the Uzumaki Clan disappear?"

"Do you hear anything about the Senju Clan anymore? Why won't Tsunade return to the village..."

"Just look at what's right in front of us. The Uchiha were wiped out too, leaving only a few survivors. They used to be far stronger than the Hyuga~"

"Look at a map from Konoha's founding, then look at the territory and population of the Sarutobi Four Clans today. They've grown more than tenfold. Even the Hyuga fall far short of them."

Qingwu thought, Grandpa really is someone who lived through the Warring States Period. He sees things clearly.

In the final war, the Sarutobi alone had fielded over three thousand shinobi, not counting the fighters left behind or ordinary Sarutobi clansmen. Experience really did count.

"What?! N-no way!!" The two brothers, Hiashi and Hizashi, were stunned, their faces full of disbelief. "Through all those Ninja World wars, every clan in Konoha lost people. Their four clans grew tenfold? How is that possible?"

Qingwu brought out the Konoha Atlas at just the right moment. "Uncles, take a look. The situation might be even worse than Grandpa said..."

Hyuga Hoze paused. This grandson of his really had something to him.

He felt immensely gratified.

Rustle, rustle~

The brothers hurriedly rose to leaf through it. The more they read, the more shocked they became, and the colder their hearts grew. Compared with the village's early days, many small clans had vanished. Some mid-sized clans had disappeared too, and most had declined drastically. Yet the territory of the Sarutobi Four Clans...

"How could they dare... How did it come to this..." Both felt as though their world were collapsing. They'd thought this was merely intimidation and suppression.

They'd never imagined it was a struggle for survival, one in which people were killed without a drop of blood being spilled. For a moment, they felt chilled to the bone.

"Hmph~ You two." Hyuga Hoze was bitterly disappointed. "Damn it~ How did a snake pit like Konoha produce two marshmallows like you? And both of you had to come from my Hyuga Clan. Unbelievable~"

"Please calm down, Great Elder~ Calm down~" Hiashi and Hizashi hurriedly stood to apologize, serving tea and pouring water to soothe him.

When the Great Elder got angry, he really did beat people. He called it training guidance. It wouldn't kill them, but it would certainly make them wish they were dead.

Besides, they both had families and status. Showing up bruised and swollen in front of the younger generation would be humiliating.

Qingwu took the opportunity to soothe him too. "Grandpa, they're just too honest. They never imagined Konoha had traitors within."

"Exactly, exactly~" The brothers nodded in agreement.

Hyuga Hoze shook his head. "I'm not angry. I'm saddened. All of Konoha has been deceived by those bastards. They're tearing out Konoha's roots~"

For a time, everyone fell silent.

After a long while, Qingwu broke the silence. "Grandpa, Uncles, we can't change the past, but the future is in our own hands. Give me time, and I promise the Hyuga will rise to the pinnacle of the Ninja World."

For the first time.

This was the first time Qingwu had displayed such an unmistakable edge.

At those words.

Hyuga Hoze smiled, delighted. "Hahaha~ Good, good, good! I'll be waiting to see the day you reach the top."

Strictly speaking.

Saying something like that in front of the clan head.

Was turning the hierarchy upside down.

It was outright Renegade.

But Hyuga Hiashi didn't mind. In fact, he was delighted. Qingwu was his son-in-law; who else would he dote on? "You should've stepped up ages ago, kid. You've kept using your age as an excuse to slack off, leaving me to take the blame for all your ideas. The clansmen aren't fools~"

"You take over as clan head. I'd like a couple of quiet days too, to spend some proper time with your aunt and Hanabi..." He didn't mention Hinata, because he knew Qingwu took better care of her than he did.

No sooner had he finished speaking.

"That's right, Qingwu. My brother's right. You should be clan head. The clansmen will certainly support you," Hyuga Hizashi said, wholeheartedly agreeing.

Qingwu had resolved the conflict between the Main Family and the branch family.

That year.

He'd also saved Hizashi from certain death by shifting the blame onto Asuma Sarutobi, allowing him to escape.

It had likewise been his suggestion.

That allowed Neji to learn the family's secret techniques.

"We agree too."

At some point, a group of vigorous old men had appeared at the living room entrance. They were the Hyuga's other elders—the second, third, and fourth elders—as well as two senior clan elders who served as the clan's hidden reserves.

They all looked at him with satisfaction.

Of course they did. Who wouldn't like a junior with brains and strength, who could also restore their vitality and give them several more years?

"What are you doing, Elders? I'm still a kid." Qingwu's mouth twitched.

How had watching the drama landed him in the middle of it?

He turned toward his smiling grandfather and immediately understood. His grandfather and the others had planned this together.

Apparently, the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

Had shaken them too deeply.

It had given them a sense of crisis.

He looked pleadingly at his grandfather. I really don't want to be clan head. It's exhausting, and there's so much pressure.

Hyuga Hoze met his gaze earnestly, with even a trace of pleading in his eyes. For the sake of the clan's survival, this old man, who had stood firm all his life, showed weakness for the first time.

Qingwu instantly surrendered. "All right. I understand."

The Great Elder immediately beamed, all trace of his earlier dejection gone. "Didn't I tell you he'd agree?"

"Come on, pay up~ Pay up..."

"Ah~ You won again, you old rascal."

"Damn it, did you and your grandson team up to swindle my retirement money?"

"Pah, pah, pah~ You're the swindler! I'm not that sort of man. I'd be a dog if I cheated you..."

"That's debatable. You've tricked us plenty of times before."

"Hmph~ You still have to pay. A bet's a bet~"

"Fine. I'll be a dog if I ever bet with you again."

"You say that every time, yet you still bet. Pay up~ Pay up~"

"Damn it, this is fucking bizarre. You win every time." The other clan elders reluctantly pulled out large wads of banknotes.

You used me for a bet?!

"I..." Qingwu nearly cursed aloud.

No swearing, no swearing. That's Grandpa. Grandpa...

My own grandfather. My own.

Don't get angry. Don't get angry~

"The bet was real, but so is our decision to entrust the Hyuga Clan to you. We've all seen what you've contributed to the Hyuga."

"Go ahead and do what you need to do. We'll support you."

The Four Great Elders, the Two Clan Elders, and his uncles Hiashi and Hizashi all looked at him with expectation.

Qingwu's eyes grew moist.

Why are you doing this?

"Qingwu, from today onward, you're the Hyuga clan head."